Player Assessments : SA Team

My assessment of the players involved are as follows:-

15  Willie le Roux          -    8,5/10

14  Bryan Habana         -      7/10

13  Jesse Kriel             -    7,5/10

12  Damian de Allende  -       9/10

11  JP Pietersen          -       6/10

10  Handre Pollard       -       7/10

 9   Ruan Pienaar        -     5,5/10

 8   Warren Whiteley   -     7,5/10

 7   Marcel Coetzee     -       8/10

 6   Francois Louw       -    5,5/10

 5   Victor Matfield      -       6/10

 4   Eben Etzebeth      -       8/10

 3   Jannie du Plessis   -       4/10

 2   Bismarck du Plessis -      7/10

 1   Tendai Mtawarire   -      6/10

16  Adriaan Strauss     -      6/10

17  Trevor Nyakane     -      6/10

18  Vincent Koch        -    6,5/10

19  Oupa Mohoje        -       5/10

20  Schalk Burger       -       7/10

21  Cobus Reinach      -    7,5/10

22  Patrick Lambie      -    7,5/10

23  Jean de Villiers     -       7/10

The commentators after the game said there was no MOM for the game today - but they agreed that the best SA player was Damian de Allende.

Lets face facts the one disappointing player today was Jannie du Plessis - after he was replaced Koch was substantially better than him.   

Mohoje had very little playing time and did not show anything as a lock.

JP Pietersen did not do much to warrant his position in the team.   Matfield took 3 kick-ins - but fouled up one such kick.  His contribution to Tight 5 play was lacking - while standing around behind mauls and the scrumming was not really  up to standard.   Pienaar was slow in passing the ball and he did not cover the ball Burden scored a try from.   Reinach was twice as good when he came on.   Although not playing in his real position Lambie did exceptionally well.

On the whole the youngsters did exceptionally well - while some of the senior players did not really contribute as well as they should.   One thing is clear that the Tighthead selection should be Malherbe and Koch.   For the rest I believe Meyer should take a real hard look at Pietersen, Pienaar, Louw and  Matfield again to determine whether they are still good enough.     

  Victor Matfield offloads to Damian de Allende, who shrugs off two challengers before crashing over the tryline! Pollard misses with the conversion attempt

TRY, SOUTH AFRICA, LE ROUX! 20-3. The Boks are camped close to the World XV's tryline and Willie le Roux runs onto a pass from Ruan Pienaar before bursting through a tackle from Harris and touches down next to the uprights

They lose possession, however when Steenkamp knocks on after copping a solid hit from Louw!

Coetzee puts in a huge hit on Taufua close to the Boks' 22-metre line! The New Zealander does well to retain possession and shrugs off the tackle before continuing with his run!

Schalk Burger intercepts a pass close to the halfway line before offloading to Jean de Villiers! He sets off towards the tryline and throws a long pass to Willie le Roux who dives over in the left-hand corner

He offloads to De Allende, who makes some headway before passing to Pat Lambie, who loses possession after a tackle from David Smith on the World XV's 10-metre line.

Pollard beats three defenders and is soon close to the World XV's 22! He offloads to Cobus Reinach who has an easy run-in for the Boks' sixth try!

shift the ball wide to De Allende, who is close to the touchline! He delivers a chip kick before beating Rudi Wulf to the ball and grubber kicks it ahead! He still has some work to do and dives on to the ball behind the World XV's tryline for his second try

Can't say that corresponds with your comments Tokkie.

More.....

In terms of experimentation, Jesse Kriel had a solid outing at No 13 in what were wet and testing conditions at Newlands. Burger offered more at No 8 when he replaced Warren Whiteley in the second half. Whiteley was relatively quiet in the first 40.

 And here's your hero Mallett

'Damian de Allende played well, Willie le Roux had a great game, Eben Etzebeth was outstanding, Jesse Kriel was great and so was Marcell Coetzee. And then the guys who came on in the second half ... Vincent Koch had an outstanding 30 minutes, Schalk Burger was exceptional and it was lovely to see Jean de Villiers and Cobus Reinach back from injury.

'There was one disappointing aspect of this game. It was played in northern hemisphere-type conditions, and I was a bit disappointed with Handré Pollard's kicking performance. Going into a World Cup, you would want your flyhalf to have a 75% goal-kicking success rate. He had some difficult goal kicks but you would want him to kick better than that. There were also two charge-down kicks, which could be very costly in a World Cup.

'I'd say it's probably [tickets] for JJ Engelbrecht [as far as World Cup selection is concerned]. Maybe Flip van der Merwe could still play a role [for the Boks] if they keep getting injuries. But Pieter-Steph du Toit and Lood de Jager will be coming back. You've also got Etzebeth and Victor Matfield playing we ll and I can see those four locks going to the World Cup

15  Willie le Roux          -    8,5/10

14  Bryan Habana         -      7/10  6 

13  Jesse Kriel             -    7,5/10   

12  Damian de Allende  -       9/10

11  JP Pietersen          -       6/10    5

10  Handre Pollard       -       7/10   6

 9   Ruan Pienaar        -     5,5/10

 8   Warren Whiteley   -     7,5/10

 7   Marcel Coetzee     -       8/10   9

 6   Francois Louw       -    5,5/10   6

 5   Victor Matfield      -       6/10   3

 4   Eben Etzebeth      -       8/10

 3   Jannie du Plessis   -       4/10  6

 2   Bismarck du Plessis -      7/10   8?

 1   Tendai Mtawarire   -      6/10

16  Adriaan Strauss     -      6/10   8

17  Trevor Nyakane     -      6/10

18  Vincent Koch        -    6,5/10   8

19  Oupa Mohoje        -       5/10

20  Schalk Burger       -       7/10   8

21  Cobus Reinach      -    7,5/10

22  Patrick Lambie      -    7,5/10

23  Jean de Villiers     -       7/10

So it appears Etzebeth and Victor were very good.....as was Burger.  That Coetzee had a fine game, but of course he always does against weak opposition. That in Kriel we have a possible 13 option. That Willie....the showpony as the AAS called him....is still our most dangerous back. That de Allende is an attacking force. That Pienaar was pretty fluid behind a dominating pack.

It also appears the maligned HM has these guys playing well out of the box.

For me those results are all as expected with the the only real news the fact that Kriel had a good debut.

Coetzee will flop against Oz next week....you heard it here first. Reinach and Lambie had zero pressure on them. And Lambie was playing in his best position....15.

Need any more input? 

And here are the ratings from Rugby365:

 15 Willie le Roux
A mixed back from the usually reliable fullback. Started the match with a few errors but grabbed a hat-trick before being sent to the bin for a dangerous tackle.
6/10

14 JP Pietersen
Was he even on the field?
2/10

13 Jesse Kriel
Repaid the faith Heineke Meyer had in him with an excellent first half showing and combined well with Damien de Allende in midfield.
7/10

12 Damian de Allende
Continued his excellent Super Rugby form and could have penned his name at the starting World Cup inside centre. Bagged a brace in the process.
8/10

11 Bryan Habana
Did not have much ball to work with but when he went looking for work, he showed his class by setting up Le Roux for his second try.
6/10

10 Handré Pollard
Poor kicking game and a fairly uneventful showing in a match where he could have cemented his starting berth.
4/10

9 Ruan Pienaar
Justified his selection with excellent service and go-forward ball to release the backline.
7/10

8 Warren Whiteley
Looked out of sorts on the field and was a far cry from his Super Rugby form which saw him being selected.
5/10

7 Marcell Coetzee
Sheer class with a fantastic all-round performance. Forced turnovers at will and put in some big hits along the way.
9/10

6 Francois Louw
Worked well with Coetzee at the breakdowns but let himself down by being sent to the sin bin.
5/10

5 Victor Matfield (captain)
Another vintage performance by the best No.5 in the country.
7/10

4 Eben Etzebeth
Proved he can mix it with the best and most experienced locks in the world but also showed some nifty footwork for his try.
8/10

3 Jannie du Plessis
There will be many questions raised about his inclusion in the squad after making mo real impact in the game. Was lucky to get away with a dangerous clean out on Botha in the 12th minute.
2/10

2 Bismarck du Plessis
A typical Bismarck performance and showed why he is the best hooker in the country at the moment.
7/10

1 Tendai Mtawarira
Replaced at half-time but not before some good defensive work and strong work at scrum time.
6/10

Replacements:

16 Adriaan Strauss (on for B du Plessis, 53 mins)
Not a bad outing for the hooker and laid a solid foundation for the rest of the year.
6/10

17 Trevor Nyakane (on for Mtawarira, 40 mins)
Had plenty of time to prove he deserves his spot in the team and did an okay job - nothing spectacular.
5/10

18 Vincent Koch (on for J du Plessis, 53 mins)
Proved why he is regarded as one of the best props in the country and showed J du Plessis that his position is under serious threat.
7/10

19 Teboho Mohoje (on for Etzebeth, 67 mins)
Did not hurt his World Cup chances and proved to be a worthy lock replacement.
5/10

20 Schalk Burger (on for Whiteley, 53 mins)
Made an immediate impact and further cemented his legendary status with another massive performance.
7/10

21 Cobus Reinach (on for Pienaar, 67 mins)
Grabbed a try on his return to the field from injury and showed glimpses of his form that saw him receive his Springbok colours.
6/10

22 Pat Lambie (on for Habana, 54 mins)
Definitely brought his kicking boots with and certainly has an argument for being the starting flyhalf.
6/10

23 Jean de Villiers (on for Kriel, 60 mins)
A nice run about by the returning captain who assisted in Le Roux' hat-trick try, even though he looked pretty hesitant and nervous.
6/10

Coetzee is the Carolyn Wozniacki of flankers.....great against poor opposition.  The Aussies will clean his clock, I just hope it doesn't lose us the test. The Stormers/Brumbies contest showed how poorly we perform if we lose the ball on the ground contest.

...lets hope Willie Le Roux survives the Rugby Championship as the Boks would be screwed without him...great player and will be key to SA's RWC campaign

I picked Jesse Kriel in my Bok team earlier today but I was very close to picking Cheslin Kolbe instead. I'd be happy with either one but I suspect it will be the off-form poser Willie le Roux who gets the nod.